Month 7 in Review - July

This month has felt a little odd with photography.  I seem to be either very happy with some daily photos, or don't like them at all.  The latter is a case of not really bothering to get a daily shot, while the former might be attributed to finally learning a bit more about landscapes.  I'm still lacking (very much) the patience of using the tripod much, so it's still snapshots for the most part.  For August I will therefore challenge myself to more tripod photos, as well as learning how to use the polarizer effectively.

Some stats for July:

• Favourite photo: Day 184 Bonus Photo - Lake Lillian - perhaps my best calm water photo to date
• Least favourite photo: Day 203 - Going Backpacking - really not a good photo, apart from wanting to document the contents of the pack
• Most challenging photo to take: Day 186 - Leaf - Lighting and macro combined - enough said
• Most creative photo: Day 199 - The Summit Coke Bottle
• Most used Photoshop edits: sponge (saturate), unsharp mask, dodge 
• Number of photos taken this month: ~1,270
• Number of days on which I wouldn't have taken a photo if I didn't have to for this: 20/31
• How I feel about this project: Gotta push myself to keep going, but not giving up now

Which is your favourite photo from July?

Day 212 - Mount Nelson

f/8 | 1/1000 sec | 200mm

Day 211 - Skook Lookout

See full album from the day here.

f/10 | 1/400 sec | 20mm

Day 210 - Welcome

f/6.3 | 1/160 sec | 105mm

Day 209 - Another Unidentified Rock

Almost went to bed without a daily photo, so here's another rock on my desk. I think this one is from the Ramparts.

f/5.6 | 1/100 sec | 200mm

Day 208 - Photography and Hike Planning

Itching for the Icefields area and Abraham Lake photography.  Maybe combine with a hike the next day to Nigel Pass, Upper Brazeau Canyon and Cataract Pass.

f/4 | 1/50 sec | 31mm

Day 207 - Unidentified Rock

Found in the Selkirks.

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 105mm

Day 206 - Morning Dew

Look closely and you'll see a spider in a spider web (click image to zoom in).

f/9 | 1/320 sec | 46mm

Day 205 - Asulkan Hut

Our home for three days.  See more photos from the trip here.  Backpack update: can probably ditch 1/3 of the weight for the next one.

f/9 | 1/320 sec | 8mm

Day 204 - Alongside the Asulkan Glacier

f/10 | 1/400 sec | 18mm

Day 203 - Going Backpacking

Luxury items packed: a pillow and dry shampoo (and of course camera and two lenses).  Weight will be around 39 pounds when all liquid and food is packed.

f/4.2 | 1/20 sec | 35mm

Day 202 - Just in Time

Got my Celestron TrekGuide today, so I won't need to bug my fellow hikers for the time all the time. Has weather, altimeter, compass and alarm as well.

f/4.5 | 1/40 sec | 48mm

Day 201 - Inner City Living

I'd go for a house like this...

f/10 | 1/400 sec | 22mm

Day 200 - Hail

f/3.8 | 1/60 sec | 105mm

Day 199 - The Summit Coke Bottle

f/3.3 | 1/30 sec | 105mm

Day 198 - Alberta

I love taking this classic Alberta shot each year: yellow canola, green grass, and blue sky.

f/10 | 1/400 sec | 18mm

Day 197 - Healy Creek

Lots of photos from today, but instead of posting the 'good photo' or the big scenery, I am posting one of my favourite spots from the hike. 26km and 750m elevation gain.

f/9 | 1/320 sec | 18mm

Day 196 - Spent Too Much Time at MEC

New Oboz Wind River hiking boots and Thermarest backpacking pillow.

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 27mm

Day 195 - Start of the Pile

Lots more to pack, but I'll go with the 60L backpack for Asulkan Hut (2 nights) and 48L backpack for Abbot Pass Hut (1 night). Pack another pack for a day trip?

f/3.8 | 1/8 sec | 22mm

Day 194 - Sunset

f/7.1 | 1/800 sec | 200mm

Day 193 - Climb

f/4.5 | 1/15 sec | 46mm

Day 192 - Backpacking in Two Weeks

I got my first "Adventure Map" for Roger's Pass.  These maps are waterproof and are right on par with the GemTrek maps.

f/4.8 | 1/50 sec | 50mm

Day 191 - Evening Shower

f/4.8 | 1/30 sec | 55mm

Day 190 - Myka Gets Dirty

Learned how to jump logs, fell in mud, rode through mud, creeks, and went through knee-deep bog.  18km and 362m elevation gain.

f/5.6 | 1/125 sec | 18mm

Day 189 - Stampede Parade

f/11 | 1/500 sec | 90mm

Bonus Photo - A Fleeting Moment

This isn't one of the better photos from today, but one I'll hang on to.  After all, it's not every day that you walk a few blocks out your front door and see Royalty driving by.

f/7.1 | 1/200 sec | 60mm

Day 188 - Glass of Cranberry Juice

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 105mm

Day 187 - Alpine Club of Canada

Got a membership, huts upgrade, and annual backcountry wilderness pass.  Asulkan and Abbot Pass Huts are booked. Stanley Mitchell, Wheeler,  Kain, and Elk may be next.

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 31mm

Day 186 - Leaf

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 105mm

Day 185 - Salad & Herb Garden

f/8 | 1/250 sec | 22mm

Bonus Photo - Lake Lillian

This is a photo from yesterday, but I didn't get around to reviewing all my photos last night.  Gorgeous sunset and the water was so calm.

f/11 | 1/500 sec | 16mm

Day 184 - Columbia Wetlands

f/8 | 1/250 sec | 20mm

Day 183 - Flowers

Went to Premier Lake, Tamarack Lake, and Larchwood Lake today.  Flowers are more plentiful here than in Alberta.

f/5.6 | 1/320 sec | 200mm

Day 182 - Mount Lipsett

f/10 | 1/400 sec | 8mm

Month 6 in Review - June

I've made it halfway though this project! Looking back, I think my biggest reward of the project overall is having captured things - mundane things - that might otherwise have been long forgotten.  Each of the photos is, in some way, a reminder of what I did on a given day.  And while it seemed that this month was rainy on most weekends, looking back at the sky shots reminds me of how many nice summer evenings we've already had.  I have adventures and mini trips planned for July, August, and September, so am hoping that those will give me a chance to slow down and again take a stab at star trails and other slower nature photography.

Some stats for June:

• Favourite photo: Day 152 - Fiery Sky
• Least favourite photo: Day 178 - Backcountry Dessert Test - the photo is as bad as the taste of this stuff
• Most challenging photo to take: Day 166 - Bodum - white needs to be white
• Most creative photo: Day 176 - Mount Indefatigable - perhaps not that creative, but I like finally having my first shot that shows that the earth is round
• Most used Photoshop edits: sponge (saturate), unsharp mask
• Number of photos taken this month: ~860
• Number of days on which I wouldn't have taken a photo if I didn't have to for this: 23/30
• How I feel about this project: Just keep going, even if I need to sneak in photos of things on my desk.

Which is your favourite photo from June?